SARS-CoV-2 Orf9b suppresses type I interferon responses by targeting TOM70

Abstract

COVID-19 is caused by SARS-CoV-2. 1 As of July 16th, 2020, there were 13,579,581 diagnosed cases and 584,782 deaths attributed to COVID-19 reported globally ( https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html ). 2 Unfortunately, there is still no effective drug or vaccine for treating this disease. To accelerate drug development, there is an urgent need to identify critical molecular targets and the role they play in infection. Herein, we reported that Orf9b localizes on the membrane of mitochondria and suppresses type I interferon (IFN-I) responses through association with TOM70, and TOM70 overexpression could largely rescue this inhibition. Our results suggest the potential of targeting Orf9b-TOM70 interaction as a novel therapeutic strategy of COVID-19.